unaligned

Norwegian Air said it expects to have a cash holding of 7b crowns ($843m) if it manages to raise the full amount of capital it is seeking this month. Norwegian is aiming to raise 6b crowns in fresh capital as part of a scheme to emerge from bankruptcy protection in Ireland and Norway on May 26. The cash will come from a mix of perpetual bonds and equity, with the new shares sold at only 6.26 crowns each, a steep discount to the 55.25 crowns it trades at in Oslo. The airline said it expects total liabilities to be around 16b to 18b Norwegian crowns, of which about a third is aircraft-related debt, after the process is completed. Norwegian said on Monday it had support from “cornerstone” investors such as the asset management arms of Nordic banks Nordea and DNB and Geveran Trading, an investment vehicle of shipping magnate John Fredriksen. The domestic pension fund of the Norwegian state, Folketrygdfondet, is also among them. Norway had said it would take part in the capital raise. Financed largely by debt, Norwegian grew rapidly as it served routes across Europe and to North and South America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East before the COVID-19 pandemic plunged airlines into crisis.<br/>

Nigerian authorities have lifted a suspension order against local carrier Azman Air after it implemented a corrective plan to address safety matters, the airline states. The suspension affected Azman’s Boeing 737 fleet and was imposed in mid-March after several incidents involving the undercarriage of passenger flights, each of which involved aircraft damage, over the space of six weeks. Nigeria’s civil aviation authority had described, on 19 March, an “alarming trend” of tyre failures, combined with “improper” tyre maintenance procedures, as a “clear and strong indication of an accident chain formation in its final stages”. “No responsible civil aviation authority will fold its arms and wait for the next incident to occur, perhaps a fatal accident, before taking action,” it added, justifying its suspension of Azman’s 737 operations and the initiation of a comprehensive audit into airworthiness, training, finances and other areas. But Azman Air says it met with the authority on 1 May, after undergoing the safety audit and implementing the recommended corrective action plan. It cites a 1 May communication from the regulator which states that the authority has reviewed the plans and “found them satisfactory” and that it “hereby lifts the suspension…with regards to the operations of [737s]”.<br/>

Etihad Airways is a step closer to re-sizing itself into a mid-sized airline after disposing of its stake in Air Seychelles. The Abu Dhabi airline said it sold its 40% take in Air Seychelles back to the Seychelles government. Although Etihad’s management contract has been terminated, Remco Althuis and Michael Berlouis will remain on as CEO and CFO respectively until June 30, to assist with the transition. “In the wake of the current crisis, the divestiture of Etihad's stake in Air Seychelles is part of the clean up process to emerge as a mid-size carrier with less financial burdens from the past,” said Linus Benjamin Bauer, MD of Bauer Aviation Advisory. The airline’s only remaining airline investment is in Air Serbia, though that stake has been reduced from 49% down to 18. “Selling its last stake in Air Serbia would be very much in alignment with Etihad's new strategy to become a boutique airline with a focus on premium in the post pandemic era,” Bauer added. Much like boutique hotels, boutique airlines are a category of their own, with an emphasis on lifestyle branding. The current status of Etihad’s stake in Jet Airways is not clear after the struggling airline was taken over by Kalrock Capital and Dubai-based Murari Lal Jalan. Since Jet Airways is not flying currently, Serbia’s flagship carrier is the only active airline in Etihad’s portfolio. “This is a time of opportunity for both Air Seychelles and the country, as tourism starts to rebuild following the reopening of its borders,” an Etihad spokesperson said. <br/>

Indonesian low-cost start-up airline Super Air Jet aims to begin flying soon with a business model focused on tech-obsessed millennials with a propensity to travel, the carrier’s CE, Ari Azhari, said Monday. Industry sources said the airline has links to Indonesia’s biggest airline group, Lion Air Group, though the nature of any ownership overlap is unknown. Azhari had been the general manager of Lion Air Group and the statement on Super Air Jet’s launch was provided to Reuters by Lion Air’s spokesman. Super Air Jet, which is in the process of obtaining a license to fly, will start with 180-seat Airbus SE A320 planes focused on domestic routes before a later international expansion, Azhari said. “Super Air Jet was founded on the basis of optimism that market opportunities especially for domestic flights in Indonesia still exist and are wide open,” he said. “There is very strong demand from the community for air travel today, especially from millennials.” He did not provide further details on how the brand would be distinguished from Lion Air, also a low-cost carrier. Super Air Jet said its inaugural flight was scheduled for the “near future”.<br/>

Philippine Airlines has informed its lessors of a plan to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA by the end of May, three people with knowledge of the matter tell Cirium. “They are going to file before the end of May as long as they have the requisite support from creditors in terms of the majority they need to get it through and the prearranged fashion they’re going for,” says one of the people. PAL is putting together a prearranged insolvency, which the person describes as a “halfway house” between a pre-pack and the freeform filing that, for example, some of the Latin American carriers have used. “There are milestones and there are things that the airline then would have to do, there are commitments and DIP [debtor-in-possession financing] that have to materialise,” the person adds. “The DIP funding would have to come through and all of that is negotiated with the lawyers. That’s the approach they are taking.”<br/>

A price war has erupted between domestic airlines, with tickets for flights between Melbourne and Sydney selling for as low as $39. Qantas’ budget airline Jetstar, Virgin and Regional Express have put thousands of domestic flights on sale. Rex sparked the price war when it revealed it had slashed the price of its Sydney-Melbourne route to only $39 on Monday. Virgin and Jetstar soon followed, offering fares at similar prices on what is currently the seventh busiest flight route in the world. Rex deputy chairman John Sharp said he hoped the sale would reignite the domestic market and boost tourist numbers between the two major cities. It comes after both cities were excluded from the government’s discount tickets measure intended to stimulate the tourism industry. “Peak tourism bodies reported yesterday that flagship stimulus programs from state and federal governments have not benefited Melbourne and Sydney,” Sharp said. “This will now change as Rex’s ‘cheaper than the bus’ fares will see airfares between the two cities even lower than the federal government-sponsored Tourism Aviation Network Support program fare and will jump-start leisure and business travel. “I believe this initiative will singlehandedly revive a moribund travel and hospitality industry in the two cities.”<br/>